Pride on parade

Tuesday

Sep 3, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 3, 2013 at 10:15 AM

By James A. Johnson | The Newport Daily News

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — Residents and visitors lined the streets Saturday for a 40-minute, four-division parade along East Main Road and Turnpike Avenue as Portsmouth continued the celebration of its 375th anniversary.

“It was brilliant,” said Lord Mayor Lynne Stagg of Portsmouth, England, who rode in a red BMW convertible near the beginning of the procession. “All the way along people were waving and saying, ‘Welcome’ and ‘Thank you for coming.’ I think we are really appreciated for making the effort to come. We didn’t think twice about coming.”

The parade featured three bands, several floats, antique automobiles, veterans groups, youth groups and local organizations.

One float featured a huge white birthday cake saluting the founding of Portsmouth in 1638 by a group of religious dissidents from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Another float carried a replica of the fighter jet Red Sox slugger Ted Williams flew during the Korean War, followed by a model of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which the sponsoring group is trying to bring to Aquidneck Island. National Grid sponsored a Statue of Liberty float.

Just as the parade was making its way along East Main Road, the sun broke though the clouds.

Besides the British lord mayor, the mayors of Portsmouth, N.H., and Portsmouth, Va., rode in convertibles and then watched the rest of the parade from a reviewing stand along Memorial Drive with local and state officials and other dignitaries.

As they passed the reviewing stand, the 88th Army Band played “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” and the Northeast Regional Navy Band played “Anchors Aweigh.”

A highlight of the parade was the Portsmouth High School Marching Band, the last unit in the procession. The 180-piece band paused in front of the reviewing stand and played “Corrado” and “Hey, Baby.” Those watching included newly appointed School Superintendent Barbara McGann, who sang along to the latter tune while others clapped to the beat. The band closed out its performance with “For Portsmouth,” the school song.

“The standout among all this is our high school marching band,” Town Council President James A. Seveney said. “They are just smashing.”

The Artillery Company of Newport, pulling its 1789 Paul Revere cannon, and the Second Rhode Island Regiment drew applause as they marched by. Others in the line of march included Miss Rhode Island Jessica Marfeo, George Mendonsa, known as the “Kissing Sailor” pictured in Life magazine the day World War II ended, and Lee Mason, a city councilor in Portsmouth, England, who acted as host to the Rhode Island delegation when it visited that city in May.

Mason said he was most impressed with the “friendly faces and warm welcomes” along the parade route.

Also featured in the parade were SpongeBob SquarePants, Sesame Street’s Elmo and five walking red lobsters from Scampi’s restaurant.

John Vitkevich described the units as they passed the reviewing stand, making no mention of the tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge, although he is a strong opponent. That was not true of Kenneth I. Wright, mayor of Portsmouth, Va., who noticed an anti-toll sign near the reviewing stand.

“Tolls are the biggest issue going on right now in Portsmouth, Virginia,” he said after the parade. The city is suing the governor over tolls the state wants to put on a tunnel near that city.

He was wearing his parade attire: a straw hat with “Portsmouth, Va.,” written on the band, a dark blue suit and a red, white and blue tie. That is the same outfit he wears in his hometown’s Memorial Day parade, the longest-running Memorial Day parade in the country, he said.

Wright said he was impressed to see all the local kids and families out on the streets to show their Portsmouth pride.

“It was touching,” he said. “Everyone I waved to said, ‘Welcome to Portsmouth, Rhode Island.’ They are so hospitable. It was really touching.”

He commended the 375th steering committee and all the volunteers who worked on the parade and other events to commemorate the town’s anniversary.

“It’s the volunteers who make the world go around, not us politicians,” Wright said. “They are the people who care about and love their community and want to make sure that visitors like me will leave with that great impression. That’s the way I am leaving.”

Eric Spear, Wright’s counterpart in New Hampshire, said he had seen a lot of cool stuff since he arrived Thursday, including Fort Adams State Park, The Elms mansion and the Naval War College Museum, all in Newport.

But all communities have their special buildings and sites, he said, and he was more impressed with the people he met here.

“All the people of Portsmouth have been so welcoming and really friendly, opening their homes to us,” Spear said. “To me that has made this a really special experience.”

Stagg noted the War College Museum has a replica of the HMS Victory, once the flag ship of Lord Nelson and now the flag ship of Portsmouth, England.

Local dairy farmer Louis Escobar said being named grand marshal of the 375th anniversary parade was the thrill of his life.

“I loved it,” he said. “I could not ever have imagined that I would have so many different people call out my name as I rode in the wagon. It is a very humbling experience.

“I just do what I love doing, and it seems to bring pleasure to other people. I am so grateful for that.”

The celebration continued Saturday with a cannon firing at Bristol Ferry Town Common and a polo match at Glen Farm between the United Kingdom and the United States. A Family Day Picnic at Glen Park on Sunday put a finishing touch on the anniversary weekend.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.